Every year, the Travelling Docudays UA brings more and more fans of documentary cinema to Kirovohrad region. People like high-quality documentary films, so they look forward to new screenings.

 This year's festival started on 4 November and is gaining momentum every day. More than 500 people from 11 towns and villages in Kirovohrad region have already watched this year's collection of films from the 21st Travelling Docudays UA. Our audience includes workers in agriculture, culture, education, medicine, people of the third age, IDPs, students, pupils. All of these people are united and solidarized by the documentary.

 During the discussion of the film, the viewers share their life stories, talk about the life of their village or city, and reflect on what needs to be done to make their community safe and comfortable, and to make the Ukrainian state based on the principles of law and democracy. These conversations were inspired by the film The Kyiv Files by the Dutch director Walter Stockman and a sincere conversation with Eduard Andriushchenko, a researcher of the Soviet period, who joined the discussion and answered numerous questions.

The documentary Kiosk evoked a lot of emotions and experiences, and after the screening, the director Daniel Stopa joined the discussion. Daniel answered all the questions frankly and sincerely. It turned out that he did not set out to highlight the problem of domestic violence, but rather tried to show the emotions caused by this problem. And the director succeeded. The emotions of the heroines were transmitted to our female viewers, because the problem of domestic violence they saw in the film story is familiar to Ukrainian women.

 Meanwhile, at the screening of short films, the pupils and students had a lively and emotional discussion about the film Girl Away From Home by Ukrainian director Alice Kovalenko and Danish director Simon Lereng Wilmont. The audience was also happy for the family pet in the film Nelson the Pig by Anneke de Lind van Wengarden.

 The educators actively supported the information campaign "Sexual Abuse on the Internet: How to Protect Children", which was jointly launched this year by the NGO Docudays, the DOCU/CLUB Network and the Magnolia NGO. During the discussion of the film Caught in the Net, the participants came to the conclusion that the problem of sexual violence on the Internet needs to be solved as soon as possible. In order to prevent sexual abuse of children in the digital age, the NGO Docudays and the Magnolia NGO have developed information and methodological materials to be distributed among different audiences. 

Another important film was watched by IDPs in the Sofiyivka dormitory, namely Boots on the Ground, Hands in the Soil by Karolina Uskakovych. Those present at the screening and discussion told their own stories, shared family traditions and came to the conclusion that all people are different, but each and every one of us has the right to life, safety and time to do what we love, which brings pleasure and a sense of self-realisation. For some, it is agriculture, for others it is working at a factory, for others it is research. 

In what way the Travelling Festival in Kirovohrad region events attract audience? For them, it is not only an opportunity to watch films, but also to communicate with other visitors to the screenings. The stories of the heroes and heroines of the films create a space for reflection on how the problems and dreams of different people are ultimately very similar. And the discussion of the films after the screening is not just about comments and impressions of what we have seen, but about finding a solution to the problem in the legal field. 

In addition, the Travelling Docudays UA is a unique opportunity for villagers to meet and talk to the filmmakers, to ask them about the characters and the story behind the idea for the films. 

Author: Olena Mirkhaydarova, regional coordinator of the Travelling Docudays UA in Kirovohrad region.

Main photo: a still from the film The Kyiv Files.

The 21st Travelling Docudays UA is supported by the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine, and International Media Support. The opinions, conclusions or recommendations do not necessarily reflect the views of respective governments or charitable organizations of these countries. The author(s) of this publication are solely responsible for its content.